What covers most or all of the overlap in your family/fun car venn diagram for around the 10k mark?

It's a reality that parents with families have to accept if we want to drive a "fun" car as a regular use vehicle; It's got to have a backseat (spouse/partner +kid), be safe, reliable, and it's got to have a boot big enough for all of the stuff that goes along with it. In my family, it also needs the ability to hold a bike rack and have some sort of availability of all weather floor mats (seems specific, but if the PNW has anything, it's mud, also we like to be outside).

Most vehicles that seem to fit this criteria are for some reason mind numbingly boring, with obvious reason based on their intended use. Some can be made a bit more fun, but most of the time they are just so far into the appliance group that there is no way to get the overlap that most enthusiasts are looking for. 

Nothing is ever perfect, and compromises must be made in all directions. To be safe, it probably needs to be heavier than we'd all like. To be reliable, it probably can't be on a strung out tune. To have a backseat, it most certainly can't be that Super Seven I've wanted since I was a kid. 

The thread I started on an E39 had a few responses about other "big body" imports that are as much fun or more because they aren't German (Lexus IS?). It got me thinking about what other reasonably priced options are out there that could cover most of the bases without breaking the bank and not be made of glass.  

I was going to suggest the nicest E46 330i with a manual that you can find.

Which is, of course, German.  But my E46 325i stick gave me almost zero trouble in 100k miles of ownership as a daily commuter, family hauler, and sometimes autocrosser.  Even just going back and forth to work, it was fun to drive.

duke and i are brothers, i think.  i was gonna say E60 manual wagon, probably AWD and maybe turbo.  i didn't realize how much i loved my E60 until it was gone, and it was a vanilla AWD sedan automatic non-turbo.

That 10k mark stings, otherwise I'd recommend a Macan. 

You might be able to find a 3rd Gen Legacy GT Wagon (make sure that the 60k/120k services are taken care of and the up-pipe was swapped out for an aftermarket one due to the cat self-destructing and spitting bits into the turbo), as it is just a WRX in long roof form. As long as the engine stays stock + no tune + you keep on track of maintenance, it should be very reliable. 

Turbo hatches are built for this purpose.  WRX seems to be doable on a 10k budget.  Maybe a GTI.  If the budget were higher, Veloster N or CTR are perfect.

My playing within the rules answer would be a Honda Fit because: Cheap, fun, and holds everything. 

My real answer would be: Put that 10k down on a '23+ Honda Civic Type-R. 

Bikes are probably best done via a 2" receiver hitch so I recommend keeping eTrailer bookmarked to verify the option is available. 

Trying to really stay in budget, could a Ford Focus ST be a real answer? 

PS: I have not yet checked eTrailer to see if 2" hitch is available for the ST.

John Welsh said:

Bikes are probably best done via a 2" receiver hitch so I recommend keeping eTrailer bookmarked to verify the option is available. 

Trying to really stay in budget, could a Ford Focus ST be a real answer? 

PS: I have not yet checked eTrailer to see if 2" hitch is available for the ST.

Doesn't the FoST have center exhaust? That would kind or rule out a trailer hitch.

Also, if you can find one that doesn't have 200k miles or a marked title for $10k, I'd like to see it.

I picked up a very high mileage V60 T5 in the middle of the pandemic for $11k. I swapped some 200TW rubber on it and it's more entertaining than it has a right to be.

8th or 9th gen Civic Si sedan.

1) 2010 Civic Si. Takes 4 bikes Los Angeles to montana no problem. Trunk is huge. 

2) If you move the budget, keep the same family, Evo 9 MR, but oodles more fun. 

I have both and it is perfect. I have had a 16 WRX bought new (lemon) - never again. Also have had 11MS3, 12Mazda5, 12 ISF, 12 TX Wagon, 13LS600h, but niether were as fun as the top two combos. 

Good luck. 

Late mk6 or early mk7 GTI would be my vote. So much so, that I have a mk6 GTI. Has 2 cars seats in the back and often has my hitch rack with mountain bike. It, knock on wood, has never left me stranded in my 8 years and 120k miles of ownership.

mr2s2000elise said:

1) 2010 Civic Si. Takes 4 bikes Los Angeles to montana no problem. Trunk is huge. 

2) If you move the budget, keep the same family, Evo 9 MR, but oodles more fun. 

I have both and it is perfect. I have had a 16 WRX bought new (lemon) - never again. Also have had 11MS3, 12Mazda5, 12 ISF, 12 TX Wagon, 13LS600h, but niether were as fun as the top two combos. 

Good luck. 

If by "move the budget" you mean 3x-4x as much, then yes, an Evo is on the table. Heck, find me a $20k Evo IX that isn't beat to hell and i'll buy it today

It's not one I'd recommend unless you have a warped mind: my 6 speed manual Outback. Add better shocks/dampers and a set of sway bars and off you go.

I've used mine on a wet track for instructor training, stage rally recce, buzzing down dirt roads to ghost towns as well as a daily driver.  You can throttle steer it on roundabouts and it'll rotate nicely with a bit of trail braking.

I keep trying to think of what would replace it, Porsche Cayenne or Macan, but for those prices I could modify the Outback to do even more. 

For myself, I previously answered this question with an Infiniti Q45.  If looking for a similar but better answer today it would be th forgotten/unknown Infiniti M56.

Who doesn't need 420 hp from 5.6Ls in a non-descript, sleeper sedan in either RWD or AWD form?

It will take some looking but...Samples

Speed 3, GTI, 3.7TL Type S, G37

I've seen quite a few manual swapped E46 Tourings go across some of the auction sites lately, usually for pretty reasonable prices...

Here's one with a 330 ZHP/ 6speed... bid is still under $10k with less than a day remaining.

https://carsandbids.com/auctions/9QoV78dn/2002-bmw-325i-touring

In reply to mr2s2000elise :

The SI's have fascinated me for a while. Every once in a blue moon one will pop up for a reasonable price and I always second guess it due to size and safety concerns. I remember reading a thread of yours where you carted the family around on a road trip in yours, was size/safety/mass a concern of yours when you were shopping?

In reply to Tom1200 :

I don't think that's an unreasonable answer at all. Living in the PNW there is an endless amount of Subarus changing hands. What year is yours and is it an XT? I had a 1st gen Forester on WRX suspension and it was bananas how much fun it was.

In reply to DocRob :

I don't think your second option is the same thing. I blabbered on about this in another post about buying new vehicles. But putting 10k down on a car is not the same as buying a 10k car. I wish it was!

But, I do like the Fits!

In reply to Steve :

You are correct. 10k down /= buying a 10k car which you would own outright.

However, I am also not really a big fan of buying cars in the 5-15k range. I think they represent the worst values. They're long(er) in the tooth than a 15k+ car, usually by about 40-70% more miles, but still "new enough" that major problems can hide. I've not yet bought a car in that price range where I didn't have to drop 2k into within 18-months of owning it.

I've bought several <5k cars and driven them until death. Always getting my money's worth out of it. I've bought a few cars >15k and also gotten my money's worth.

But never in that 5-15k range. Two cars, both times they turned out poorly.

So, for me, I'd either look for a $5000 Honda Fit/Mazda2 or throw that 10k in on something that is <3 years old and likely requires financing. 

Steve said:

In reply to Tom1200 :

I don't think that's an unreasonable answer at all. Living in the PNW there is an endless amount of Subarus changing hands. What year is yours and is it an XT? I had a 1st gen Forester on WRX suspension and it was bananas how much fun it was.

Mine is a 2011. It's basically a bare bones car; I bought it solely because it had a 6 speed manual. I would have bought a higher trim level but those didn't have the manual. Mine is damn near stock.

We do a bunch of soft-roading with it (my wife doesn't like hard core off-road stuff). I was just out in the desert with it on Saturday gather rocks for my wife's garden (she was looking for some cool volcanic rock). A BMW touring would be cool but I still need the clearance for off-roading.

It's now got 135K on it.  I've said when the motor gives up I plan to replace/rebuild it.  I'm not a Sube-Fanboy but the thing does everything I need so well. It hauls the wheels for my race cars as well as engine blocks to the machine shop etc.2014 was

The last year of the manual otherwise I might consider getting a new one. I had considered a Crosstrek but the interior noise was a bit higher than I liked so I'm sticking with the Outback.

Barely overbudget.  Totally commonplace boring car.  Nobody ever bothered tuning RB series engines, right?